Piano Lessons
by mira ff
Summary: Just a little one shot based on Tifa's piano in Nibelheim. Cloti


**A/N: So I was really bored today. I started playing KH2, attempting to completely finish my journal, when my mom yelled at me for playing video games for like 4hrs straight. And thus, this little one shot was born. Hope you like it guys :) **

**Disclaimer: ...not mine :( but plot is.  
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_Piano Lessons_

Her face looked ecstatic, awe inspired at the large hunk of wood on the side of her bedroom. It looked rather elegant compared to the rest of her room, the dark cherry finish standing out against her beige colored walls. She had waited a long time for it to come, ever since her father had promised her one last May. And now that it was finally here, sitting peacefully in her bedroom, she didn't know where to begin.

Delicately, her fingers tapped the white keys. She blinked at the noises, sounding rough and broken, not the least melodic. _Practice. That's what Zangan says. It must be the same for this. _

The 12 year old girl cracked her fingers and went back to the instrument. She pushed one key, then the next, then the one following that one, until she finally recognized one note. _Do. Do. Do. Okay that one's Do. _A few more times her fingers touched the note, trying to engrave the sound in her mind. She slid to the next note. _Re. Re. Re. S_he then huffed. She wanted to know how to play songs _now_, not listen to scales over and over. _You have to start somewhere…just like with Zangan. _

But at least the things Zangan showed her were mildly interesting. Teaching herself scales on a beautiful April afternoon was not fun. The girl went towards her bedroom window, peering out to the town below. She opened it smoothly in order to let some of the calm breeze enter her room. _At least I can pretend I'm outside now._

Her brown eyes caught the sight of her friends below, laughing and running around playing some sort of game. She gave a light smile at their behavior, but didn't offer any greeting. Her focus would be the piano today. She had been begging her father for one for so long that she felt she owed him _one _song.

_I wish I had sheet music_.

Like that would have made a difference. She wouldn't know how to read it anyway.

She briefly turned to face the instrument, but found her focus was once again straying to her window. The laughter of her friends was slowly drifting away. Her eyes scattered across the town, trying to spot them, but they found someone else instead. It was that blonde boy from next door. She searched her thoughts. _Cloud…Cloud Strife. _ A soft smile formed on her face. Cloud barely went outside, except when he was running or practicing some sword technique with a stick. The memories of this made her laugh a little. He was older than her, but she found his training quite adorable.

But they never really talked much, which seemed strange to her. Cloud always seemed nice, he was only a year older than her, and he lived right next door. Her other friends were boys too. _He doesn't like my friends. _ That was the only conclusion. Well that, or another possible alternative that wasn't so appealing. _Maybe he doesn't like me?_

Her father had scared him off a bit when they were eight, for reasons she couldn't really remember, but even before that they never talked much. The thought made her a little disappointed. She leaned out the window, watching as the boy calmly sat in front of his door.

_He looks bored…_ She thought of her own boredom with the instrument. She also remembered that her father wouldn't be back for an hour, doing some sort of project with Shinra at the Mako reactor. "Hey!"

Her voice was clearly audible below, but the boy didn't turn. _Maybe he's ignoring me…_ But she didn't like that thought. "Hey, Cloud!"

Now she got his attention. The spiky haired boy turned to her window, a look of pure astonishment apparent. "…yes?" His voice was quiet, timid even.

"Hi!" Her smile grew at his acknowledgement. "Can you help me with something?" She didn't specify what, afraid that might deter his interests. "Just real quick?"

_Is he blushing?_ The girl giggled lightly to herself. _Nah, why would he?_ His head shook ardently, and he started to walk over. Cloud paused for a moment and looked up. "Is it okay?"

She shrugged, "My dad's not home." This only caused his face to darken even more. _He must be cold. _"The door's unlocked. I'll be up here."

The blonde boy made his way up to her room, looking closely at her bedspread and teddy bear calmly nestled between clumps of sheets "Hey, Tifa." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "What do you need help with?"

Tifa awkwardly smiled and ran her fingers gently through her dark hair. She had never been alone with a boy in her room before. But at her age, she didn't intend to do anything less than innocent. "That." Her small fingers pointed to the instrument in the corner. "I was hoping you knew how to play it."

His face semi darkened at the request, "Not really…I mean, my mom sort of taught me some music."

"She did?" Tifa walked over to the piano bench, beckoning Cloud to follow. "Could you teach me something? Just one little song? I want to surprise my father."

Cloud nodded, "Of course, Tifa." His eyes darted to the floor when he turned to face her. But she didn't need to see them directly to notice their splendor. They were delicately blue, soft, but holding some strange sense of determination. _Remind me why we aren't best friends again?_

His fingers traced the keyboard, already seeming more acquainted with the notes than she was. He found the Do key easily and pressed it lightly. "You'll want something simple then…something easy to remember?"

"Yeah, that would be perfect!"

Cloud's smile grew seeing her enthusiasm. He traced the Do key again, and then moved to the two keys next to it. His pinky pressed a higher note and then the key to its left. He repeated the beginning pattern again, this time following the notes with 2 lower keys than before. They swiftly returned to the beginning pattern. "It's easy." He cleared his throat, not too accustomed with talking. "Do, Re, Mi, Ti, La." Cloud mimicked his voice with the actual chord. "Do, Re, Mi, So, Fa… Do Re, Mi." The notes once again followed his voice.

"Do, Re, Mi, Ti, La." Tifa was working off of memory. "Do, Re, Mi, So, Fa…I can do that!"

Cloud stepped back from the piano, letting her try.

She found the Do key easily enough and even got to the Ti without a mistake. Her fingers moved slow, making the melody seem disjointed. _Do, Re, Mi, Ti, La, Do Re, Mi, So, Fa, Do, Re, Mi._ Tifa smiled. The notes were flowing easily now, encompassing the room with the soft melody.

The blonde boy's eyes glimmered with satisfaction. "You're good, Tifa." The compliment was soft spoken.

Tifa laughed, "Not really. But thanks, Cloud. My dad will be happy I learned something that doesn't sound completely awful."

He nodded in accord. "The best part is that it's easy to remember. Even years and years from now."

"Like the melody just gets stuck in your head, doesn't it?" She laughed again. "It's pretty though. I wouldn't mind."

The room fell quiet without the music or the two kids talking. Cloud still looked shocked to be there, and Tifa was repeating the note sequence over and over again, not noticing the silence. After a short while, Cloud waved goodbye. "My mom wants me to help her with dinner."

Tifa looked a little surprise, "You cook?"

"…Not really." The blonde boy shuffled his feet in embarrassment. "But I guess I'll be seeing you, Tifa."

She nodded. "Of course! We're neighbors."

"Right…" He quickly sped through the door, leaving Tifa alone with her piano to practice.

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The little girl's fingers slammed on the ivory keys, impatience taking over.

"Stop it!" The brown haired boy next to her groaned. "You're supposed to play _music_ with a piano, not make my ears bleed."

"Who says this isn't music?" She continued to jam on the notes haphazardly, ignoring the obvious torment of the boy next to her.

Soft footsteps entering the room immediately ceased the racket. "Marlene?"

The little girl turned on the piano bench "Yes, Tifa?"

"What are you doing?' Tifa glanced at Denzel next to her. His face looked twisted, and he managed a long grimace, gesturing towards the piano.

"Making music, Tifa. That's why you bought it, right?"

Tifa sighed a little. "Yes…but first we need to teach you how to play. Before you can make music."

Marlene's face turned into a pout, "But I want to know now…"

"But I don't want a headache. Come on, Marlene. Let's go play." Denzel grabbed the girl's hand and started to drag her out of the room.

This left Tifa alone with the glossy instrument in front of her. The whole texture was smooth and black, blending in effortlessly with the rest of the household. She had bought the piece on sheer whim, thinking that the wall in this particular room was too empty.

But now that it was here, brought to her house with the help of Barret and Reeve, she realized how much she missed having some kind of instrument by her side. Her fingers graced the keys, causing her to grin. She still had no idea how to play. _ I hope Marlene doesn't mind me not being her piano teacher._

She lightly pressed more notes, getting used to the feeling of cold under her callused fingertips. Tifa was going through each note one by one, not noticing the other figure walking in.

"A piano?" The voice was low and inquisitive.

Tifa smiled and turned to face the figure, not relinquishing her place on the piano bench. "Mhm." She kept stroking random keys. "I thought we could use one."

"We?" He was walking up to her.

"Yes, the children should probably grow up with some music." She turned back to the keyboard. "You're home early, Cloud."

Cloud shrugged and went to the left of the piano, wanting to examine it more closely. "My last delivery got cancelled. Why a piano?"

"Why not?" She slammed on the notes harder, causing the blonde to cringe.

He shook his head, even though she was clearly enjoying the noise she was producing. "Here, Tifa…like this." Cloud went on the bench, causing Tifa to scoot to her right more.

Tifa stopped all movement, distracted by his serious look at the keys.

His fingers elegantly draped over the notes, pressing one key at a time, but making such a fluid melody. She hummed softly to herself. _Do, Re, Mi, Ti, La_… _Do, Re, Mi…_

Tifa regained focus, noticing the music stopped. "Hmm, Cloud?"

The blonde made no movement, only looked at her with some weird gaze of anticipation. His body heat next to her willed her on. She paused for a second, recollecting some thoughts, and found the key with little effort.

"So, Fa." Tifa calmly hummed. "…Do, Re, Mi." She turned to face the man to her left. "Well?"

His face held a soft smile, making him look a little boyish. "…That's right. You remember it?"

Tifa lightly started to play the notes again, this time an octave higher. "Of course. It was unforgettable."

She repeated the pattern over and over, this time with Cloud playing some left hand chords, emphasizing her own keys. Tifa paused lightly as their elbows gently touched, but she returned her focus to the never ending melody.

"I could teach you another song." Cloud suggested after some time. "Something easy again."

To his surprise, Tifa gently shook her head. "No…not something easy. Something more difficult…something we'll have to keep practicing over and over again." She stopped and tried to suppress her light blush. "That is…if you can."

Cloud fervently nodded, causing Tifa to smile. The room was silent for a short time, only the soft laughter of Marlene and Denzel echoing from the other room. Soon enough, they both returned back to playing the chords, enjoying their shared memory and the anticipation of others.

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**A/N: I'll try to think of a longer story, but for now I hope you guys liked this little one shot.**

**Oh, and if anyone knows that melody (without google or anything) I will be quite impressed :) **

**Reviews are forever appreciated! Bye!**

**~Mira  
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